Corsairs’ Stronghold presents a simple challenge: Can you destroy the anchorstone faster than your opponents can?
What Is Corsairs’ Stronghold?
Corsairs’ Stronghold is an equalized 20-versus-20 battle for level 30 characters and above. When you enter the battleground, your skills will scale to the level 60 versions, and all of your gear will be standardized with the same number of crystal slots as the gear you were wearing when you entered. Players between level 30 and 59 will be able to earn XP in Corsairs’ Stronghold, offering players a new leveling path.
How to Enter the Battleground
Click the gray button below your compass to open Battleground Matching, then select Corsairs’ Stronghold. You can enter with a group or go in solo and join an existing team. You’ll initially be assigned to either attack the anchorstone or defend it. But you’ll have a turn at each.
You can leave the queue with no penalty, but if you leave or go AFK while in the battleground, you will be kicked from the battleground and labeled with Deserter’s Shame, unable to queue for any battlegrounds or dungeons for 30 minutes.
The Gear
Everyone entering Corsairs’ Stronghold will be equipped with a set of gear that is standardized across everyone in the battlefield. There are certain things to keep in mind though!
- All your armor and weapon slots must be equipped with something before you enter the battlefield. If a slot is empty, you will not get that gear, and effectively be fighting naked. No one wants that.
- Crystals are allowed, but are supplied only by you. The types of crystals, and the amount of crystals you can equip, are dependent on the gear you are wearing before you enter the battlefield.
Rules and Objectives
- Each team will have one round as the attacker, and one round as the defender.
- The time limit for the first round is 15 minutes.
- The time limit for the second round is equal to the duration of the first round. (For example, if the first attacking team took 11 minutes to destroy the anchorstone, the second attacking team has 11 minutes, rather than the full 15 minutes.)
- A round will end if the attacking team succeeds in destroying the anchorstone.
- The team that destroys the opponents’ anchorstone the fastest wins.
- If neither team destroys the opponents’ anchorstone, the team having the most HP left on their own anchorstone wins.
- If both teams take the same amount of time to destroy their opponents’ anchorstone, or if both teams have the same amount of HP left on their anchorstones when the time runs out, the match ends in a draw.
Spawn Points
The gray flags in the middle of the map are resurrection sites that either team can capture. Once a site is captured by a team, the members of that team can resurrect at those capture points, as well as their original starting point. The choice of resurrection location is made through a pop-up window.
Attacking
The attacking team has many choices on how to infiltrate the stronghold. You can choose to use any combination of airships, cannons, or ladders, along with brute force to destroy the stronghold’s anchorstone.
Route #1: Sneak in by Air
- Airships are fast, but vulnerable to cannon fire. To enter, run to either the western or southern airship and press F. Each airship can only hold 5 players. Right-click to launch the airship and begin your ascent. Airships can only be used by the attacking team.
- Press 1 to jump out at any time. Falling damage does apply. If the airship blows up when you’re inside, you die as well!
- Airships will respawn at the starting point after a set time.
Route #2: Breach the Gates
- There are three gates. The two outer gates provide entrance to the outer courtyard, and the final inner gate gets you into the hall of the anchorstone.
- Each gate is sufficiently strong and will require a lot of force to break them. Your normal skills will work, but sometimes we all need some help. That’s why we have siege weapons.
- Players can attack or defend with tanks and cannons in Corsairs’ Stronghold.
- To drive a tank, approach it and press F. To exit, press the 1 key. Use WASD and the mouse to move and aim, and left-click to fire.
- Turret cannons are controlled similarly to tanks. The only difference is they are stationary.
- Once you are in the tank or cannon, it cannot be taken by another player. It however, can be destroyed by other players. If a siege weapon is destroyed with you in it, you die as well.
- Players from either team can repair broken siege weapons. After repair, the weapon becomes neutral can be grabbed by either team.
Route #3: Climb the Walls
- There are two sets of ladders on each wall, four in total. They are stationed on the west and east side of the walls.
- Climbing up the ladders gives you access to the cannons stationed on the walls. It can also give another meaning to “death from above,” as this method is a much faster way to get through the walls than beating down the main door.
You’ll likely need to use a combination of these tactics just to get to the anchorstone. After you get there, tanks and cannons can be used in conjunction with your own skills to destroy the anchorstone. What, and how you do it, will be up to you and your team to decide. So have fun storming the castle!
Defending
Compared to attacking, defending can seem pretty simple: Don’t let the other team infiltrate the walls and damage your anchorstone. There are three main points of defense, and getting there fast will be key. Luckily, unlike the attackers, you have access to the underground escape routes.
Underground escape routes are one-way passage ways. It won’t be possible to use the escape routes to re-enter your base.
Destroy the Airships
There are cannons placed strategically on top of your walls to help you and your team repel the airships. While airships are easy to kill, they are moving targets that may require more than one shot to destroy, so don’t take them lightly! Airships can also be launched with just one person in them—who can jump out at any time—so be wary of decoys!
Defend the Gates
The escape routes provide you fast access to the gates. The gates do not respawn, so making sure these chokepoints are defended is the utmost priority. Going after enemy tanks and retaking them as your own is vital to your success as a defender.
Defend the Walls
If an enemy team takes the walls, they also take the cannons that go with it. Securing the cannons and preventing the attacking team from easy access to inside the walls can make or break a match.
Advanced: Claim the Resurrection Points
Time is of the essence in Corsairs’ Stronghold. Spawning closer to the battle means being able to get back in the fight quickly, without being forced to cross half the battlefield, which leads to a faster finish time. Two of the resurrection points are outside the walls, however, so defenders will have to be brave in venturing out where it’s not as safe.
Defend the Anchorstone
Even after the walls are breached and the ladders are climbed, the attacking team still has to take down the anchorstone. It has a lot of HP, but at this stage the attacking team also probably has tanks as well, so your best bet is to meet them at each stage of attack before they get to the anchorstone.
Teamwork
Ultimately, the attacking team can utilize any number of methods to get to the anchorstone. A defending team that communicates well and adapts to the ongoing battlefield will be the most successful one.
The Booty
Pirates don’t plunder just for fun. There are rewards and new quests to go with Corsairs’ Stronghold that will benefit all participating players, win or lose.
Scoring
You can score points in Corsairs’ Stronghold in three ways:
- 600 points for a killing blow
- 300 points for an assist with a kill
- 1,000 points for destroying the anchorstone
New Quests:
- Three new quests are now added to introduce you to Corsairs’ Stronghold, and will be available at level 30, 40, and 50. Each provide XP, gold, and a victor’s box upon completion.
New Daily Quest:
- The first time you enter Corsairs’ Stronghold each day, you will automatically receive a new daily quest. Complete this quest by winning a match in Corsairs’ Stronghold.
- Rewards:
- 200 Bellicarium credits
- 700 Bellicarium reputation
- A healthy amount of XP for players under max level
- 40 gold / 90 gold for max-level users
- Sea Chest Box
- Guaranteed: 1 strongbox key
- Random: selection of valuable gems, boosts, and other goods
Recurring Rewards:
- One victor’s box delivered via parcel post for every three wins in the Corsairs’ Stronghold
- One challenger’s box delivered via parcel post for every three losses in the Corsairs’ Stronghold
If your team wins in Corsairs’ Stronghold, you get the following:
- 140 Bellicarium credits (240 Bellicarium credits if you were the leader)
- 50 Killing Spree credits (80 Killing Spree credits if you were the leader)
- 150 Bellicarium reputation
- 150 Killing Spree reputation
If your team lost in Corsairs’ Stronghold, buck up! You still receive the following:
- 80 Bellicarium credits
- 20 Killing Spree credits
- 50 Bellicarium reputation
- 20 Killing Spree reputation
Glyph boxes have been added to the Bellicarium vendor and will be sold for 700 Bellicarium credits.
Leveling XP: All players who are not maximum level will receive normal leveling XP. The amount you receive will be determined by your score in the battleground.
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